Rotary valve apparatus



Dec. 17, 1963 J. vLAslc 3,114,393

ROTARY VALVE APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 22, 1962 7 l FIG.I a

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I 1 T 1, 32 3e I5 I l4 26 l I r1 I0 I a l8 38 INVENTOR.

JOHN VLASIC ATTORNEYS Dec. 17, 1963 v s c 3,114,393

ROTARY VALVE APPARATUS Filed June 22, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

'INVENTOR;

JOHN VLASIC damfi'mmryhm ATTORNEYS Dec. 17, 1963 Filed June 22, 1962 J.VLASIC ROTARY VALVE APPARATUS Fl G. 5

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 8

FIG. 7

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INVENTOR JOHN VLASIC BY dam, Wwhi ATTORNEYS United States Patent ()fiice3,11%,393 Patented Dec. 17, 1963 3,114,393 RGTARY VALVE APFARATUS JohnVlasic, Harvey, Ell, assignor to Sinclair Research, Inc, New York, NSL,a corporation of Delaware Filed June 22, 1962, Ser. No. 204,577 1 Claim.(Cl. 137-62518) My invention relates to valves and in particularprovides a rotary valve suitable for use in a gas chromatography system.

In chromatography minute quantities of vapors are passed through tubesin which they are separated by differential rates of solution incarefully prepared solvent fih'ns in the tubes. Lubricants, being otherthan carefully prepared solvent films, must be excluded from the systemso a valve suitable for gas chromatography must have lubricant-freeseals. Other requirements for such a valve are an absence of dead spacessuch as T, out-of-il'ow line hollows, or cavities; minimum leakage fromone port to another and from ports to the exterior; and operability athigh temperatures on the order of 250 C.

Previous gas chromatography valve systems were limited to maximumtemperatures of about 260 C., had narrow drilled passages, wereexpensive to manufacture, were difiicult to maintain, and were bulky.

My invention provides a rotary valve, operable at high temperaturesabove 250 C. and suitable for use in connection with gas chromatography.

My invention also provides a lubricant free rotary valve having minimumdead spaces, passages with minimum internal diameter and minimumleakage. The internal volumes Within the valve lines can be altered withfacility.

My invention provides a rotary valve including a pair of confrontingbody members arranged coaxial-1y and mounted for rotation relative toeach other about their common axis. A resilient valve seal is providedbetween the body members and maintained in a fixed angular relationshipwith one of the body members relative to the axis of the body member.The valve seal is also in sliding, sealing contact with the other bodymember. A pair of openings extend through the seal and a pair ofpassageways extend through the one body member which is in fixed angularrelationship with the seal. The passageways register in fluid-tightcontact with the openings through the seal. A pair of ports extendthrough the other body member and are interconnected by a conduit. Thebody members have a first relative angular position in which each of theports registers one of the openings through the seal and a secondrelative an ular position in which the ports are out of register withthe openings through the seal. A means is also provided for rotating thebody members relative to each other from the first position to thesecond position.

Advantageously, the passageways through the one body member can take theform of tubes passing through the body member. These tubes can also havea V-shaped annular groove at one of their ends thereby providing twosharp concentric annular edges. In such instance the grooves and annularedges are in sealing contact with the valve seal. Also advantageously,the ends of the tubes can extend slightly beyond the one body member andbe embedded in the valve seal thereby retaining the seal in a fixedangular relationship with the one body member.

While my invention has been described above as having but twopassageways through the one body member and but one pair ofinterconnected ports in the other body member, it will be understoodthat an apparatus embodying my invention can also be provided withseveral passageways through the one body member, e.g. 4, 5, 6 or more.The number of passageways that can be employed is limited only by thephysical size of the particular a-pparatus being used. Similarly, theother body member can be provided with a plurality of pairs ofinterconnected ports. The exact number of pairs of ports employed isdetermined by the number of passageways in the one body member and thevalving or switching function desired to be effected.

For a more complete description of my invention, reference is made tothe appended drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an oblique projection of a form of rotary valve inaccordance with my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top sectional view of the rotary valve taken through linesIlII in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an exploded oblique projection of the valve;

FIGURE 4 is a schematic drawing of the ports of a distribution valve;

FIGURE 5 is a schematic drawing of port connectors of a distributionvalve;

FIGURE 6 is a schematic drawing of the distribution valve with one portconnector connecting the inlet port and a first outlet port;

FIGURE 7 is the valve of FIGURE 6 in a second position;

FIGURE 8 is the valve of FIGURE 6 in a third position;

FIGURE 9 is the valve of FIGURE 6 in a fourth position; and

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary, enlarged, cross-sectional view of alignedports and openings in the valve of FIG- URE l.

The rotary valve shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 includes a stationary bodyl0, an indexing pin 2%, tubing 24., an annular valve seal 12, arotatable body 14., port connector tubes 38, bolt 52, bearings 44, outerrace 46, helical spring 4%, and cap nut 5d.

The stationary body it), comp s ed of metal and of drum-shape, is shownin a vertical position, having a greater diameter than height, with anaxial, vertical hole 16 through its upper, fiat, horizontal suriace,hole in being tapped for receiving a threaded fastener. in the uppersurface of the stationary body lid is an annular groove of rectangularcross section. Communicating between the lower horizontal surface ofgroove 13 and the under surface of the stationary body lltl are fourvertical ports 2d having axes spaced equal radial distances from and atintervals about the axis of the stationary body 16. Passing through eachof the ports 26% is a tube 24 having a double edged V-grooved upper endsurface extending through the port slightly above the lower surface ofthe groove 18 as shown in FEGURE 15. In a v rtical hole having an axislocated between the axial hole lo and the annular groove 18 on a radiusintersecting the axis of body 19 and one port is mounted a verticalindexing pin in fixed position extending above the upper surface ofsolid body The annular valve seal 12, having a rectangular crosssection,has an inner and an outer diameter equal respecti-vely to those of theannular groove is? the stationary body lid, is composed of glass-filledpolytetrafiuoroethylene, is affixed in groove 13 projecting above theupper surface or" body lit and has vertical openings as passing throughit axially aligned with the ports 25) in the stationary body ll). Thesharp ll-groove in the upper edges of the tubes 2 in ports 2%), whichproject into annular groove l8 as shown in FIGURE ll), fit tightlyagainst and dig into the surface surrounding openings 26 in the annularvalve seal 12 to provide a fluid-tight seal between the ends of tubes 26- and valve seal The rotating body 14 which is composed of metalincludes a lower drum-shaped portion having a vertical axis, and anupper tubular portion so extending vertically and coaxially above thedrum-shaped portion 34. T

tubular portion it} is of substantially smaller diameter than thedrum-shaped portion 34 which is of equal diameter to the stationary bodyit). An axial hole 41 of slightly greater diameter than the diameter ofthe axial hole 16 in the solid body ll) extends through the rotatablebody 14 from the upper end of the tubular portion 45) to the undersurface of the drum-shaped portion Tl'irough the drum-shaped portion 34outboard of tubular portion td are four vertical ports 36 spaced 90apart having axes spaced from the axis of the rotating body by adistance equal to the distance between the axis of the stationary bodyand axes of the ports in it.

Connecting adjacent pairs of the upper ends of ports 36 in thedrum-shaped portion 34 are two curved tubular metal port connectors 33silver-soldered to the upper surface of the drum-shaped portion 34 andextending into the ports 36 a short distance.

Along the rim of the under surface of the drum-shaped portion is anannular flange 15 having an inner diameter equal to the outer diameterof the annular valve seat 12 and having a vertical dimension less thanthe vertical projection of the valve seal 12 above the upper surface ofthe stationary body ill. in the under surface of the drumshaped portion34 is an arcuate recess 32 or" square crosssection extending 96 aboutthe axis of the rotatable body 14, having its ends aligned with radiithrough the axis of the rotating body and the axes of two adjacent ports36 in the drum-shaped portion 34, having its center a radial distancefrom the axis of the rotating body equal to the radial distance of theof the indexing pin from the axis of the stationary body 19.

Rotatable body 14 and stationary body 10 are assembled together by meansor" bolt 52 which is threaded at each end. The lower end of bolt 52 issecured in threaded engagement in tapped hole to of body it), while itscentral, unthreaded portion extends up through axial hole dl of body 14.The upper surface of body 10, in which seal 12 is mounted, is thuspositioned beneath and con fronting the undersurface of drum-shapedportion 34 of rotatable body with the upper end of indexing pin 28received in sliding engagement in arcuate channel 32. The upper surfaceof valve seal 12 abuts the undersurface of drum-shaped portion 3 5 andis peripherally, slidin gly received by the inner face of flange 15. Theupper end of tubular portion 29 is grooved to define a bearing race Acollar 46 is slidingiy received on the upper end of bolt 52 and on itsundersuriace is grooved to deline a second bearing race confrontingcaring race 42. The bearing race on collar 46 and bearing race 42 carrybetween them a number of ball-bearings '44 and are urged together by acoil spring 48 received on the upper end of bolt 52 above collar 45which is held compressed against collar as by a cap nut 5t threadedlyreceived on bolt 52 above spring 48. A handle 54 is afiixed to tubularportion 4d of rotatable body 14 to enable body 14 to be rotated relativeto body Hi.

It will be noted that by reason of the sliding reception of the upperend of indexing pin 28 in ninety degree arcuate slot handle can thusrotate body 14 ninety degrees relative to body iii. The positioning ofslot 32 is such that at each end of the stroke of handle 54 the ports asin body 14 register with openings 26 in annular valve seal Thus one pairof oppositely disposed ports 29 are alternately connected, each througha different connector 38 to a different adjacent port 2d, at oppositeends of the stroke of handle 54 while at intermediate positions ofhandle all ports 28' are closed from communication with each other, suchthat the resulting valve action is equivalent to a four way valve havingcrossconnected outlets and is useful, for example, in connecting theoutlet of one chromatograph to the output or" another in one openposition, and in permitting independent operation of such chomatographsin the other open position.

It will also be noted that the employment of long tubular portion 45with handle 54 disposed at its upper VIE end remote from ports 36 andconnectors allows portion 40 to serve as a heat sink and minimizes theamount of heat transferred from the hot valve to handle 54, thusprotecting spring and maintaining constant the force holding togetherthe first and second bodies 1d and 14.

In another aspect of my invention I provide a stationary body 56 havingfive ports, shown schematically in FIGURE 4, with an inlet port so andfour outlet ports 61, 62, 63 and 6 displaced about the axis of thestationary body at various angles. The rotatable body 52, shownschematically in FIGURE 5, includes four port connectors 71, 72, 73 and74 connecting to points about the axis of the rotatable body 58. Exceptfor location and number of ports and port connectors, the structure isotherwise identical to that of FIGURES 1, 2 and 3. Connectors 71, 72, 73and 74 are so disposed, that within a ninety degree rotation ofrotatable body 53, the inlet port 69 can be connected to each one of theoutlet ports 61, 62, 63 and 64 at a particular angle of rotation. Thisvalve design provides a differential distribution valve capable ofsupplying 2 or more outlets from a single inlet.

The location of the outlet ports with respect to the inlet port 69measuring counterclockwise about a circle coaxial with the vertical axisof the stationary body is as follows:

At the first position of the rotatable body 5'8 in which port connector71 connects inlet so and outlet 61, the angular relationship of pointsconnected by each respective port connector measuring counterclockwiseas above is as follows:

Port connector No.: Connects points from 71 0 to 45 '72 to 330 73 to 30974- 225 to 270 To connect individual outlets to the inlet port, therotatable body must be rotated counterclockwise by the respective anglesindicated below:

Connection of- Port Rotation,

connector degrees Port 60 to port 61 71 0 Port 60 to port 62-. 72 30Port 60 to port 63.- 73 60 Port 60 to port 64 74 90 With these geometricrelationships between the ports of the distribution gauge, for any ofthe positions indicated only one outlet port can be connected to inletport on, preventing undesirable connections between outlet ports andattendant mixing of gas samples.

In view of the above description of the differential valve system shownin FIGURES 59, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that avariety of hole alignment patterns can be provided with differentangular relationships between ports, with more or less ports, and thatthe above structure is only an example of a structure useful for afour-way distribution valve.

In addition the form of structure shown in FIGURES l, 2 and 3 can beused with two or more pairs of ports arranged symmetrically as shown fora simple two-way valve. Of course the structure can be modified toprovide a valve having three or more positions connecting differentconduits together for any predetermined angular relationship between therotating body 14 and the stationary body 10 as will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art.

Tests for thermal stability of the components of a system designedaccording to this invention showed reliable operation and pressureretention were possible above 300 C. when a valve seal composed ofglass-filled polyt-etrafluoroerthylene in a mixture of 85 wt. percentpolytetrafluoroethylene to 15% wt. percent glass fibre was used.Polytetrafluoroethylene was used because of its excellent thermalstability and chemical resistance.

Further tests showed only slight leakage between ports and the exteriorand very small amounts of leakage between ports. Tests at 350 C. and 100 p.s.i.g. helium have shown pressure retention with negligible leakage.The ends of the tubes 24 are designed to lengthen the leakage path, seeFIGURE =10, adjustable retaining cap 50 and spring 48 are used to retainthe smooth contfronting surfaces of rotating body 14 and valve seal 12in tight and close contact.

Another aspect of this invention includes using tubing unions of variouslengths to vary the lengths md volumesof the port connectors so that thevalve can be used for many diiferent applications, for example, to trapa specified volume of sample in a sample line and to transfer suchsample to a carrier line.

I claim:

A rotary valve including a pair of coaxial ly disposed, confronting bodymembers mounted for rotation relative to each other about their commonaxis, a resilient valve seal disposed intermediate said body members,means retaining said seal in a fixed angularrelationship with one ofsaid body members relative to the axis of said body member, said sealbeing in sliding, sealing contact with a portion of the other of saidbody members, means defining a pair of openings through said seal, meansdefining a pair of passageways through said one body member, each saidpassageway registering in fluid-tight contact with a said openingthrough said seal, means defining a pair of ports in said other bodymember, means defining a conduit interconnecting said ports, said bodymembers having a first relative angular position in which each said portin said other body member registers with a said opening through saidseal and a second relative angular position in which said ports in saidother body member are out of register with said openings through saidseal, and means for rotating said body members relative to each otherfrom said first position to said second position, said passagewaysthrough said one body member comprising tubes passing through said onebody member having means defining V-shaped annular grooves at one end ofeach tube providing two sharp concentric annular edges at said one endof each tube, which ends of said tubes extend beyond said one bodymember and are embedded in said valve seal thereby comprising said meansretaining said seal in a fixed angular relationship with said one ofsaid body members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,757,541 Watson et al Aug. 7, 1956

